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Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Knot Today, and AG Recoil Curl Activator
  • Qwerty
    I was wondering if any wavy or curly haired people have tried either the kinky curly curling custard and knot today together or separate and or if anyone has tried the ag recoil. I am just curious to hear how these products worked for anyone who with wavy/curly hair that is normally frizzy and especially if you live in a very humid climate.

    I know the kinky curly products on their site http://kinky-curly.com/ claim to be natural and organic but personally that does not interest me. I am just really looking for something to calm the frizz whether it is organic or not. I don't want to use anything that would damage my hair but if it isn't hurting my hair then I am fine with using it especially if I see results. I use moisture shampoo and conditioner and I do use olive oil or coconut oil as a deep conditioner a couple times a month. I try to now deep condition once a week but I usually don't manage to do it that often.

    I have only used the kinky curly curling custard and knot today once. I used them together. I loved the knot today. I have never in my life been able to get such slip in combing through my knotty hair. I was amazed. If you go to curlmart.com and look at their top 10 products for curly hair the curling custard is #1, knot today #2 and ag recoil is #4. I have no idea why or how the knot today worked so well at getting the tangles out of my hair so quickly. The list of ingredients for the knot today (from curlmart.com) are: Organic mango extract, organic slipper elm, organic marshmallow root,
    organic lemongrass, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, citric
    acid, phenoxyethanol and natural fragrance. That doesn't mean anything to me because I am just not sure what those ingredients do or don't do and if they are truly effective conditioners but I know that normally it takes me a half hour to get all the tangles out of my hair using great conditioners and a wide tooth comb. With the knot today I just coated my hair with it and then combed through in 5 minutes or less. I don't know if knot today truly conditions or not but my hair did not feel dry.

    As for the curling custard it did give my hair nice curl without crunch but later in the day I was starting to see frizz and the humidity is unusually low right now so the sight of frizz was disappointing. The ingredients for the curling custard from curlmart.com are: botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and
    marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, tocopheryl
    acetate (vitamin e), pectic, citric acid, potassium sorbate and natural
    fragrance. Again that doesn't mean much to me being that I am not familiar with what or how those ingredients work but as long as it doesn't damage my hair I am willing to experiment with it. I am just looking for results.

    I think I am going to try these two again but rinse out the knot today before applying the curling custard. I have read a million great reviews as well as watched several reviews on youtube on these two and I am really wanting to figure out a way to make them work for me. Although most reviews are for curls type 3 and 4. I have found very few reviews from people with type 2a, b or c curls. So this could be why it is not working for me as well as I had hoped. Of course I might just need the custard by itself.

    That being said I have also read great reviews on ag recoil but I have not tried that yet. The aghair.com site states their products do not contain salt when you go to http://www.aghair.com/about-ag/ under why ag? It states AG works. All products
    come packed with botanicals and healing ingredients. What they don't
    come with is salt, parabens, gluten, PABA or animal testing. If you go to products and click on the ag recoil curl activator it tells you some of whats in it.
    • Magnesium sulfate – helps shrink the bonds in the hair, cultivating
      and defining each individual curl and wave. It gently supports curls
      without being crunchy and helps give hair a silky, soft feel with lots
      of movement
    • Silk and keratin protein – adds moisture, strength, elasticity and shine
    • P-14 copolymer – gives long-lasting curl definition and flexible hold
    • Polyquaternium 11 – encourages curl and conditions the hair
    • Herbal extracts – soothe the scalp and add shine to hair

    Curlmart.com seems to give the full list of ingredients. Here is what they have listed.

    Water/aqua/eau, Polyquaternium-55, Hydroxypropyl Starch, Cetylalcohol,
    Stearalkonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol,
    Glycerin, Corn Starch Modified, Cetrimonium Chloride, Salvia
    Officinalis (sage) Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract,
    Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops)
    Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract,
    Melissaofficinalis Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Prunus
    Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extract, Cymbopogonschoenanthus Extract,
    Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Sodium PCA, Polyquaternium-10,
    Magnesium Sulfate, Silk Amino Acids, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl
    Hydrolyzedkeratin, Panthenol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate,
    Tetrasodiumedta, Parfum/ Fragrance, Methylchloroisothiazolinone,
    Methylisothiazolinone.

    I don't understand why they say their products don't come with salt when the recoil has magnesium sulfate in it. I mean isn't that salt? Or am I missing something? So I am hesitant to try the recoil due to salt being in the product. From what I understand it can be drying to hair and therefore damaging. Unless that is something I have learned incorrectly or it is correct and the amount of salt is so low it is not a drying problem in this product. It seems to be pretty far down on the list of ingredients yet on the ag site they seem to boast that that magnesium sulfate is in their supposedly salt free product. AG seems to be saying two different things on their own site. We don't use salt. We do use salt. Anyway, other than their mixed messages, I am concerned it would be drying and damaging to my hair. Anyone with information about salt in hair products would be welcomed. I know the beautybrains did blog that salt is used as a thickener and should be no problem in a rinse out product like shampoo or conditioner but I could not locate anything on salt being in leave in hair products and if different levels made a difference or even if another ingredient in the product might block or prevent the drying effect of salt on hair.

    I would be interested in hearing what anyone with frizzy wavy curls who have used any of these products would have to say about them especially if you live in a mostly humid area.

  • lindygirl1960
    I live in an area that is really humid in the summer but I don't use any of the pricier products so I am no help. I use extra virgin coconut oil to deep condition once a week. I also scrunch it into wet hair as a leave in. I wash with a sulfate free shampoo every third day. (My scalp seems to react badly to sulfates.) I use el-cheapo, no silicone conditioner to co-wash and to lightly condition on the days I do use shampoo. I use a curl cream I buy from Sally Beauty Supply mixed with an aussie gel to style my hair. My hairspray (to try to hold my bangs straight once I dry them) is also a mass market brand. 

    I have been really pleased with the results of doing my hair differently. More shine, lots less frizz in the summer and less static in the winter. It has been a win-win for me.

    I hope you have some success in finding products that work for your wavy hair. I agree with you completely that many of the products folks with type 3 hair rave about do not necessarily work that well for type 2 (a,b or c) hair. My hair is type 2. It will go straight without a huge amount of work. But it will also go really curly with a little coaxing. So I refer to it as wavy/curly for lack of better terminology.
  • bluecatbaby

    I have been using the Curling Custard for the last 8 weeks, on my 2b hair, and I have been really happy with it. I plan to buy it again. I have seen frizz develop during the day, but much less than with other products, and I work in a small amount of silicone gel for that. I don't yet know how it holds up on a steamy humid day. I guess I'll find out in about 12 weeks (Florida).

    I use moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, then a small amount of Garnier Fructis leave-in conditioner on towel-dried hair, then probably a teaspoon of custard. I use so much because I have long thick hair.  The leave-in provides some silicone, which the Custard doesn't have. Then I let it air-dry or use a dryer and diffuser.

    I did try using different amounts of it until I found the amount I like best.

    I haven't tried Knot Today, since I am able to detangle my hair while the rinse-out conditioner is in it. But I may try it if it  goes on sale at Target. I haven't tried Ag Recoil either. My comment is, give the Kinky-Curly products a chance, and try them a few different ways.

  • Qwerty
    Thank you both lindygirl and bluecatbaby. I used the kinky curly curling custard again. This time I washed out the knot today instead of using it as a leave in. I did use a small amount of the coconut oil as a leave in and then applied the custard. I like the feel of my hair and the way my hair looks with the custard in but I dislike the frizz that developed as the day goes on. I can only imagine how frizzed out my hair will look in the really humid months. I think I might also try the kinky curly pomade or spritz to see if that will calm the frizz as it develops. The first time I used the custard with the knot today as a leave in I dried my hair under a hood. This time with the coconut oil and custard I let it air dry. The frizz seemed to developed the same but I was wondering bluecatbaby if you find air drying or using the dryer cause you to develop less frizz.
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